After finishing the punishment, Yang was left unable to stand properly and struggled to walk
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenFran Luin BeijingPublished: 10:48am, 26 Aug 2026A Chinese woman developed life-threatening muscle breakdown after her company forced her to perform 200 squats as punishment for unfinished work.
The young woman, surnamed Yang, recently moved to Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province and began her first job as a financial consultant at a loan assistance company in June.
The role is essentially a tele-sales position. Her team manager, surnamed Zhang, required each team member to make 200 calls, invite one client, and secure one client expressing intention to collaborate every day.
On July 28, after failing to complete her work quota, Yang was given the choice to either perform 100 squats or pay 50 yuan (US$7) for each unfinished task.
Having completed neither task, she opted to perform 200 squats to keep her job, stating: “I have no money.”
She recorded videos of herself doing the squats in batches at various locations throughout the office building as proof for her supervisor.
